NCSC to lauch cyber-crime hotline number

A hotline for businesses hit by cyber-crime is to be launched by the NSCC by March, according to a report in The Times which cites reasons as including “failings at Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting centre.”

The development is intended to make it easier for companies to report online crimes with the Times quoting an NCSC spokesperson describing reporting of cyber-crime as “critical to our national security.”

The aim is that victims should receive a more targeted and sophisticated response from the authorities with every caller either called or visited by police officers with updates.

In an interview in Israel last week with Lavy Shtokhamer, executive director at the country’s National CERT, he explained to SC Media UK that it has a 119 call-in number to the Computer Emergency Response Centre, where anyone can alert the centre about a possible cyber-situation. The IL-CERT operates under the Israel National Cyber Directorate and calls itself “an unaffiliated and professional organisation” that acts as a civilian centre to tackle cyber-security issues, though for practical purposes it is the eyes and ears of its stakeholders -- the Israeli government.

In an email to SC Media UK, Alun Baker, CEO of Clario said:“This is a welcomed move from GCHQ amidst an increasingly fraught cyber-crime crisis, but it is unfortunately a move which is coming far too late. The help available to victims of cyber-crime has for too long been lacklustre, overly technical in its language and far too vague. This move will go a long way towards helping businesses that fall victim to cyber-crime but unfortunately for individuals adequate support remains hard to come by, with individuals often being sent impersonal template emails in response to breaches or being given automated advice. Even such critically important responses such as data breach notifications that companies send consumers, are in 97 percent of cases are deemed lacking in clarity and even may add to customer confusion about whether their data is at risk (according to The Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES)”

“This new hotline correctly recognises that proper communication is key for victims of cyber-crime, but stops short of providing that service to individuals. As networks and our devices become more advanced and connected so will our vulnerability to large-scale cyber-attacks. The ever-growing volume of personal data needs securing against breaches and theft. Businesses and governing bodies need to adopt a more holistic approach to cyber-security for individuals, combining traditional and new controls, as well as human interaction, into protection strategies.”

source scmagazineuk

Industry: Cyber Security